Newsletter

This country’s experiment with capital punishment has been filled with mistakes. Since 1973, 143 individuals in the United States have been released from death row after new evidence proved a wrongful conviction. That means 143 times an individual came close to dying for a crime he or she may not have committed. How many more slipped through the cracks?

Despite all these mistakes, some Kansas legislators are pushing a misguided proposal that would speed up the appeal process in capital cases and would increase the likelihood of innocent individuals being put to death. What’s the point? Proponents argue that it would reduce crime, yet crime statistics show that the murder rate has consistently been higher in states with the death penalty.

As a proud Republican, I find it disturbing that each year the government allocates millions of dollars to put people to death. The proposed death penalty reform in Kansas is not cheap. The fiscal note for this bill estimates that it will add more than $1.7 million annually to the state budget. I’m fed up with so-called conservatives suddenly throwing aside all concerns about fiscal responsibility when it comes to this issue. We need principled conservatives committed to eliminating ineffective and wasteful programs in all aspects of government — including the criminal justice system.

The death penalty doesn’t reduce crime and it costs too much money. Republicans and Democrats should reject costly proposals that won’t fix the death penalty and instead repeal this unfortunate policy.